Carbon monoxide detector: Should it be required?

John BerryJuana Carrasquillo, with grandchildren Jean Cruz, 23 months(lap), Jose Rosa, 2(center) and her daughter, Limara Pinet were among 8 people sent to the hospital last week Saturday night after being exposed to carbon monoxide. The family's dog name is Nanito

Vilmary Pinet thought she had a stomach virus when she started feeling dizzy last week Friday.

Then her 2-year-old son, Jose, started throwing up and complained of a stomach ache.

The family became alarmed Saturday evening when they smelled gas coming from the hot water tank in the basement of their home on Syracuse's Near West Side.

They called National Grid emergency hot line, and crews determined that the family had been exposed to high levels of carbon monoxide, a colorless, odorless gas produced by burning fuel.

Vilmary and seven family members were taken to University Hospital for evaluation.

Syracuse fire officials said this case underscores the need for every home to have a carbon monoxide detector.

Most people have gotten the smoke detector message, but the carbon monoxide message hasn't sunk in yet.

That's because carbon monoxide detector is a new device, and the city only requires it for new buildings, according to Deputy Fire Chief Jeffrey Daly.

In 1980, the city passed an ordinance requiring smoke detectors in all homes.

Considering that more than 200 people die from carbon monoxide poisoning every year and more than 10,000 others end up in the emergency room for treatment, should carbon monoxide detectors be required in every home?

Syracuse has an abundance of older homes, many of them in the city's poorest neighborhoods.

Residents in poor neighborhoods already struggle to get their absentee landlords to fix the heat, hot water and other problems.

Carbon monoxide poisoning shouldn't be another problem for them to worry about.

If Vilmary and her family had a carbon monoxide detector it would have alerted them to the problem before they smelled the gas leak.

The family spent a night feeling dizzy and didn't realize that they had been exposed to carbon monoxide.

This story could have had a different ending. We all have heard stories of people dying in their sleep from carbon monoxide poisoning.

In November, the city condemned the home because of inadequate heat and a faulty furnace.

The family was told to leave, but Vilmary's mother, Juana, said she can't afford to move in the winter.

The city didn't follow up.

Jim Blakeman, the city's code enforcement director, said the family was told to contact the city's housing relocation office for help.

The city also informed the Onondaga County Department of Social Services about the problem and asked that the rent be stopped because of the code violations, he said.